Malia Riggs
Elmore Autauga News
The Autauga County commission met Tuesday night for their regularly scheduled meeting. All items on the agenda were passed. This included the approval for a mental health, transport, and court officer in Autauga County and a resolution honoring the retirement of a longtime operator for the county.
The county commission unanimously approved the new job opening for a mental health, transport, court officer position in conjunction with Autauga County Sheriff Mark Harrell. Funding for this position will come from two unfilled correctional deputy positions, one full time and the other part time.
“It was just a general conversation I had with Mr. Thomson (Chairman Jay Thompson) and it got my wheels turning. Luckily, we were able to do this. We did see that this could be a big help for us at the sheriff’s office as far as time and overtime. For a county of our size this is going to be something great. These people deserve our help just like everybody else,” Harrell said.
These funds will be moved from the jail budget to the sheriff’s office budget to provide the funding for this “born-again” position that has not been held for several years.
Chairman Jay Thompson praised Sherriff Harrell for opening the position and the benefit that will come for citizens in a mental health crisis within Autauga County jail, court system and more.
“I appreciate you all doing this, I think it’s a great step in the right direction. I’m seriously committed, and I think the commission is seriously committed. This isn’t just a problem in Autauga County or Prattville, its state and nationwide,” Thompson said.
Among the items on the agenda that were approved was a resolution to honor Matthew Powell in his retirement. Powell has worked within the same department as an operator II for Autauga County for 25 years. His retirement begins March first of 2024.
“That’s very impressive to be in a department for 25 years. We appreciate his service to the county, and I know he will be missed. Operators are hard to come by these days. We can’t replace the man but hopefully we can replace the job,” Thompson said with a smile.
At the very beginning of the meeting, during the public comment portion, resident Jackie Spigner expressed her opinions regarding the need for a storm shelter in District 5. She referenced the fatal tornado in the district last year, saying there is a need for shelter in the area.
This is part of an ongoing discussion regarding the shelter, that involves how the shelter would be funded and where it could be placed. We will update when more information is available.
According to the Autauga County website, “Autauga County has several designated storm shelters to protect residents from storm-related hazards. Although there are no county-run shelters, individual communities, organizations, and churches open up for “Safer Places” during storms.”
